13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Nothing grows faster than Creeping jenny. I pull it out by the handfuls in spring to try to keep it in check and still have to do more during the summer to try to control it. I never fertilize it or give it any care
It looks like there are still spots of it alive, I'd Give it a bit of fertilizer and water and stand back and watch it grow. IF the roots are still alive it may send out new growth
Thanks to everyone for their comments, the encouragement, and for the compliment! :-)
Yeah I've had creeping jenny for several years, and I know how fast it grows. I just wasn't sure if it had been killed past the point of it recovering, without me having to re-establish it with plugs. Would prefer not to have to do that. Y'know, at what point does a plant become so defoliated that it cannot recover --- I know it varies for each plant, and creeping jenny being so robust is probably pretty tough. I was just hoping that a) it would come back, and b) it would come back fast, without me having to wait the whole season.
I'd be happy to send sawflies your way... :-) All I do to control my creeping jenny is to hand-pull it from around the bases of the plants in spring, and then when I mow along where the grass meets the bed, it gets a lot of it. If it starts going into the grass too far I just spray a little Round Up between the bed and the lawn, and that will keep it contained all season. I don't mind doing that too much because when it's established it chokes out the weeds pretty well, and I don't have to mulch the bed every year.
We have had a lot of rain in the last day or two, and it seems to be responding to that. I'm seeing new growths at the ends, but not as much along the stems yet. But at least now there is new growth, which means they aren't going to just keel over.
For all its aggressiveness, creeping jenny does make a nice background in a bed. My neighbors all ooh and ahh over how great the bed looks. Haven't heard much of that lately, so I'm guessing it's because the creeping jenny isn't looking so great.
Thanks again!
RyseRyse, sounds like a few things. It could be the soil, light, age of the plant. All geranium do not demand the same conditions. I have some that like full sun, some that perform and grow perfect in the shade in horrible soil. One dose not like good soil.
If you find a plant that does not react the way your want it for the position in your garden and you do not have alternate space to plant it to make it happy then the only thing you can do is dig it out and get a plant that makes you happy.
Gardening is a challenge. I had a normal Suburban yard so I know how hard it is to have limited space. I am not in that position now. I move plants around until I find its happy place. I do not blame the plant.
It gets hit with the sunrise and sunset.. and is shaded a bit in the middle afternoon from the tree. It's actually flopping over in the middle in all directions. I should stake it.
That poplar has a bad case of chlorosis... might take him down soon just to get a replacement growing sooner then later.
My guess would be deer--I don't have them where I am but I do have squirrels, chipmunks & bunnies. None of my astilbes or hosta have ever even been nibbled--I'm guessing because I'm not in their established path but a neighbor's shade garden just 3 houses up the road from me gets chomped by deer every year.
Used to be people deliberately planted clover lawns, but it went out of fashion about a half century ago. It has sneaked back into my country lawn, until now it's almost pure clover again. Personally, I like it. The honey bees love it, and the grandkids spend hours hunting for 4-leaf clovers. I have both the red clover, the blooms of which I harvest and dry for clover teas, and the white clover. Besides, it smells good!
Sandy
oh.. i forgot ...
clover in the lawn flowers .. and when it does... there are bees everywhere ... [no lack of them in the country] ...
and if children w/o shoes step on them... there will be hell to pay ... [now my kids have laptops.. and dont play outside anymore...]
the upside of it.. on my sand.. its one of the plants.. unlike grass.. that does not go summer dormant ... one might say.. evergreen ...
ken
Kevin,
Thanks for that link! I'm very relieved to know that I can water whenever I have time without worrying that I'll over stress my plants. I worried the most about fragile seedlings that were just planted out. They need water ASAP, but I can't plant everything before 11 am on a Saturday morning.LOL. Thanks again.
Martha
nothing.. in a pot.. should be in full sun at 90 degrees ... or ever really ....
it has nothing to do with the plant leave tolerance ...
it has to do with how hot the pot got.. and how you cooked its roots ... interfering with water management ....
not only does the heat make the plant transpire heavily ... but it interfered with the roots ability to process enough water to offset it all ... and depending on pot size.. perhaps dried out ....
all my pots are kept in very bright shade... here in MI.. regardless of the plants sun tolerance ... and its the same reason no nursery worth its salt.. leaves potted plants in full sun ... unless there are hundreds of them stacked close together... to shield the pots themselves from sun ... observe next time you are plant shopping.. you are rarely standing in blinding sun.. looking at pots ... shade cloth.. lathe house.. greenhouses.. etc ... [bigboxstore is not a nursery .. lol .. they do have them out on the blacktop often .. and most of us know what they look like after a few weeks]
make any sense??
ken
Your plants should react as though you pinched the stalks - I do this with Echinacea 'Summer Sky' because it is very floppy, and occasionally trim off flower buds so for other reasons - to delay blooming, produce a bushier plant, or let the plant put more energy into roots and shoots.
I think your plant will be okay as long as the ground hog didn't eat all the leaves off, which would severely deplete the plant. If it ate only the buds, you will probably get side shoots that will flower.
In the meantime use a barrier or repellent to protect the plant.
um, yours are probably the scrambling type and there is not really any way to keep them neat and hummocky. You could try to support them with pea sticks (prunings from woody shrubs) or even encourage them to grow up and between other plants but no, cutting them back will result in losing flowers since they are formed on the continually extending stems.
A very rigid rake and over planting grass seed will do the trick. If you get your grass thick enough it will choke out charlie.
I had a small Suburban yard that was almost all charlie. Every Saturday morning it was my therapy of raking the back yard. When we had a rainy week I would throw grass seed out. By the end of summer I was free of charlie in the lawn.
I had it in my garden along with Virginia creeper, and the perriwinkle vinca vine. I got fed up with them and I took a small rake and just dug them up and pulled them out of my garden. It took a few hours and a couple of days, but it was worth the hard work. I didn't put them there myself, and they will come back. When I see a single sprout of one I weed it out of my garden right away. I hate those plants, and I'm glad I have it under control. They even choked out a passiflora vine!
Ditto what Martha said vis a vis mulch but I would add a note that layering corrugated cardboard under the mulch works a whole lot more effectively than mulch alone. I initially went with the mulch alone approach but quickly discovered adding the cardboard produced far more satisfactory & longer-term results.
Ditto to everyone, lol, and I just wanted to add that if you are working in an established bed with not a whole lot of room between plants, layers of newspapers will be easier to put down under the mulch than cardboard. You can fold the paper to fit the spots between perennials. I usually do at least 6 to 8 sheets thick. Just be sure to leave room around the base of the perennials.
Dee
While I appreciate the one you mentioned, I am interested, mostly, in those that are sterile. The plant is considered an undesirable invasive in some States. Sterile sorts include Blueberry Cobbler, Peach Cobbler and Marmalade. And I like plants that are dwarf and those with silver foliage. Also like both the yellow buddlejas, and went out of my way to order Honeycomb, when mine died. I do not want anyone to think it is a difficult plant. I failed to give it adequate water in a severe drought.
bogturtle, didn't know about the invasive factor. I will check out these sterile ones.
I have been there with vitex and still find babies!! many years after mama has been gone, funny how long the seeds remain viable.
thanks for the warning.
any others??
Gry Falcon, All of my pics are of the same bed. There are 6 Biocovos in the 25 x 8 foot bed. In the last pic, (the overhead one) taken in early May, you can't see them well as they are in the back edge of the bed. Planted 5 years ago, I would say that each plant now covers roughly a 3 to 4ft square area running into and mingling with each other and other perennials. As a ground cover I couldn't be more pleased with this plant. In my picture #3, that is Biocovo surrounding the sedums in late summer.
And we have a winning answer! Lesser goldfinches. I thought we had an agreement, those birds and me; I keep two nyjer thistle feeders full for them, and planned to let the Rudbeckia flowers go to seed for them to eat (dinner later) because they enjoyed the snack so much last year. Rudbeckias have a very long bloom season here, and take the heat without a whimper. So I planted about 20.
Yet the little birdbrains seem to think they are entitled to a free salad bar, too! (I guess they don't realize that no plants equals no rudbeckia flowers to produce seed later.) They perch on the plants and pull apart the leaves to eat. Apparently, they also like sunflower leaves. I saw damaged plants last year too, but did not know what caused it. This year I have more goldfinches visiting, so there is more damage.
Goldfinches seemed an unexpected cause of shreaded leaves. Thank you for playing my guessing game! :)
Here is a link that might be useful: You Tube Video
The scent is strongest before the flowers fully open.
Thanks for the info. If I remember correctly, it was around 1:30pm when we were walking along the shores of Mackinac. It was extremely fragrant but very heavenly. Lilac is very strong too but milkweed's fragrance embarrasses the fragrance of lilacs. :)